Every year thousands of people die from illegal drug overdoses, but ten times that number die from legal drug overdoses. Given this fact, the classifications for legal and illegal drugs are quite unbalanced. Marijuana is currently an illegal drug. Its primary contents are the cannabis plant and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Along with cocaine and heroin, marijuana is classified as a Type 1 drug, meaning that its use can result in maximum penalties in state or federal prison. Currently, the only states with legal authorization to medically administer the drug are California and Arizona. Marijuana use should be legalized in all states because the reason for its previous abolition is nonexistent today, research supporting its use is kept hidden from the public, it is safer than most legal drugs, it does not contribute to the use of other drugs, and it proves effective in the medical field.
The use of marijuana should be legalized because the government’s reason for prohibiting it does not apply today. According to Charles Schaffer, founder of the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy, “Marijuana was outlawed in 1937 as a repressive measure against Mexican workers who crossed the border seeking jobs during the Depression. The specific reason given for the outlawing of the hemp plant was its supposed violent ‘effect on the degenerate races’” (Schaffer, sec. 1). Government used the prohibition of marijuana as a discriminatory tactic to keep foreigners out of the United States. In outlawing the use of marijuana, the plan backfired – more Mexicans entered with large supplies of the drug. Lawmakers were more interested in restricting immigration than with researching the effects of marijuana on the body. Today, laws established since 1937 prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States; the prohibition of marijuana is no longer needed as an immigration constraint.
Marijuana research tends to be biased because government findings disclose reasons against...